[lbo-talk] You do realize, I hope, that religous expression isn't going anywhere...don't you?

[Carl Remick]

>From: "Marvin Gandall" <marvgandall at rogers.com>
>
>... At the extreme are more than a few athiest leftists
>I've known who observe Christmas or Passover or Ramadan because "the 
>rituals
>are comforting" or "express a positive morality" or so "the kids" shouldn't
>feel left out or excluded or cut off from their peers and their cultural
>roots. ...
>
>These folks - sympathetic to religion in theory, but secular in practice -
>don't represent any danger to us. They're our workmates and neighbours and
>frequently our friends. ...

Actually, they are me.  I wouldn't claim to be an atheist -- which strikes 
me as just another absurd attempt to claim certain knowledge of unknowable 
things.  But as ridiculous as I find Christian doctrine to be, I spend a lof 
of time and effort putting up a Christmas tree and outdoor lights each 
yuletide; I always find Easter eggs a source of delight; and I usually find 
church organ music (which I rarely hear anymore) beautiful.  It's basically 
the pagan elements of Christianity -- the holiday lights that celebrate the 
return of lengthening days, the Easter eggs that mark the springtime rebirth 
of life -- that I find appealing.

Carl

Do I contradict myself?
Very well then I contradict myself,
(I am large, I contain multitudes.)

                -- Walt Whitman